April 2011
Really Lord, a blog? That was my reaction when I realized the Lord was preparing my heart for this new endeavor. Why would anyone be interested in what I have to say? The answer is, they may not be but since I try to be faithful when I discern the Lord is asking me to do something, I decided to give it a shot. When I sprung it on Dave at 5:30 this morning he further validated my thoughts with a resounding yes! So, here we go!
As many of you know I’ve experienced a bit of a rough patch over the last six months. What I thought was routine disc replacement surgery resulted in an injured nerve which rendered my right arm useless. “It’s temporary” they told me….okay, that’s good news. However, temporary could be up to two years. That’s a long time! Now that I’m 6 months on the other side of hearing that news, I’ve started therapy and have regained partial use of my arm. After five months of depending on someone else to get me where I needed to go, I’ve started driving again. Praise the Lord!! Anyone who knows me well knows it’s not easy for me to be dependent on others.
Through this, I’ve spent a lot of time talking to the Lord. To be honest, I never felt the need to ask “why me”. It’s always been my experience that there is something to learn from a situation such as this. So I went along my merry way, having faith that I would come out of this a better person. Lots of people told me I had a great attitude…..and I did. It never occurred to me that I should be angry (until about four and a half months in). It finally started to wear on me, and I began to ask God “what is it I’m supposed to be learning here”. I prayed daily that I would “get it” so I could move on with my life. One day I realized I was in a holding pattern and I needed to take control. When I say I needed to take control, I mean that WE needed to take control……God and I. Okay, so my doctor has a little say in what happens here; but for the most part he has let me drive this entire process.
I am blessed to have a doctor who believes in the power of prayer. The day after my surgery he told me that he and his wife were down on their knees, the previous evening, in prayer for me. What a refreshing concept….doctors who pray!
A few weeks ago I heard a song on Christian radio that quickly became my favorite. It’s called “This is the Stuff” by Francesca Battistelli. She describes the little things in life that can get under your skin like losing your car keys or cell phone. Both can be very frustrating! She goes on to talk about how God uses those things. The chorus goes like this:
This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use
This song really speaks to me. It’s definitely not what I would have chosen, but I know God will use my experiences from the last six months to teach me, to strengthen my faith and who knows, maybe even to teach others. I truly am blessed “big”, and I absolutely trust Him to take me where He wants me to go! I can’t wait to see what He has planned for the next six months!
Blessings…………
Denise